RIO GRANDE VALLEY — When #RallyTheValley Week, presented by McAllen International Airport, tipped off on Feb. 12, it signaled one of the most exciting and fan-focused stretches of the spring for UTRGV Athletics.

 

#RallyTheValley Week featured eight home games in six days, Feb. 12–17, uniting Vaqueros across four basketball and four baseball games in a celebration of school pride, competition, and community. What had previously been part of homecoming before homecoming was moved to football season was reimagined and intentionally branded, and the Valley responded.

 

UTRGV Athletics staff worked countless hours to ensure that the 25,195 fans who visited the UTRGV Fieldhouse and UTRGV Baseball Stadium had memorable experiences.

 

A Week of Action

 

The festivities began with the Rally the Valley Kickoff Party on Feb. 12 at the student union, where fans met student-athletes, collected autographs, and grabbed free swag.

 

That evening, women's basketball hosted Lamar at the UTRGV Fieldhouse, officially tipping off the action-packed stretch. From there, momentum continued to build.

 

Baseball opened its season with a three-game series against Kansas Friday through Sunday at UTRGV Baseball Stadium while the basketball teams hosted Stephen F. Austin for a Breast Cancer Awareness Day doubleheader Saturday, with coaches sporting pink in support.

 

On Monday, men's basketball hosted Lamar during the annual Battle of the Colleges, in which colleges competed for two trophies, one based on attendance by students, faculty and staff, won by the College of Liberal Arts, and another decided by a free throw contest featuring the deans and one student from each college, won by the School of Podiatric Medicine.

 

The week concluded Tuesday when baseball hosted Texas Tech during an "Orange Out" night that capped off the record-setting stretch.

 

Record-Breaking Attendance

 

#RallyTheValley Week, presented by McAllen International Airport, surpassed its goal of welcoming 20,000 fans, drawing 25,195 attendees across eight events.

 

Baseball headlined the week by setting records for crowds on a Friday (5,862), Sunday (2,291), and Tuesday (6,588), the last of which was also an overall program record. The Vaqueros, who also drew 5,040 fans Saturday, welcomed the highest opening weekend attendance in program history, totaling 13,193 fans.

 

"I'm super excited about the success of #RallyTheValley Week and the incredible amount of support we received from our fan base," senior associate athletic director/chief revenue officer Derek Schramm said. "What we're building here continues to be buoyed by football and the excitement it has brought. We truly believe that a rising tide raises all ships, and we're seeing that happen. It's not just football that the Valley is rallying behind, it's all our sport programs, including baseball and basketball.

 

"The fact that we had over 25,000 fans come through our gates in just six days is phenomenal. We're really looking forward to making this an annual spring event every single year and giving our fans something to be excited about."

 

"I'm incredibly proud of what Rally the Valley Week represented for our department and our community," Senior Associate Athletic Director for Marketing and Strategic Initiatives Sara Hernandez said. "To see that level of energy, school spirit and support across multiple events in such a short amount of time was truly special. What stood out most was the sense of unity — students, alumni and families all coming together. Events like this remind us why we do what we do."

 

Fan Engagement & Passport Success

 

The addition of the #RallyTheValley Passport initiative further boosted engagement throughout the week. Fans collected stamps at each event to earn prizes, including a clear tote (five stamps), t-shirt (six), water bottle (seven), and custom hoodie (eight).

 

A total of 104 fans redeemed full passports, not only winning hoodies, but getting entered for a chance to win two nonstop roundtrip plane tickets courtesy of McAllen International Airport.

 

"It was incredible," chief of staff/associate athletic director for development Eddie Galvan said. "Our crowds were huge and we set some records. Internally, it gave us a big boost of motivation during that crossover between basketball and baseball season. As much as we asked of our fans, with a packed schedule and even Valentine's Day in the middle, they showed up and were excited to be there. It set the tone for what baseball season can look like and what meaningful basketball heading into the tournament can feel like."

 

Community Support

 

In addition to the large number of fans, plenty of corporate partners lined up to support #RallyTheValley Week. It started with McAllen International Airport, which sponsored the entire week and the passports while giving away the roundtrip nonstop plane tickets. The airport also gave away koozies at Thursday's women's basketball games and rally towels at Friday and Tuesday's baseball games.

 

Each game had unique sponsors as well, with Church's Texas Chicken passing out vouchers Thursday, Fork to Fit Kitchen handing out coupons Friday, Wing Barn giving away vouchers at both basketball games Saturday, Southern Roots giving away flowers at the men's basketball and baseball games Saturday, Whataburger passing out vouchers at the baseball game Saturday, Vaquero Outfitters sponsoring a most spirited fan contest at baseball Saturday, Main Event giving out all you can play wristbands Sunday, and BlueWave Express Car Wash handing out vouchers Monday. Additionally, Pepsi, Chick-fil-a, Pure Formance & Pilates, Bubba's 33, and Pronto Insurance tabled at various games.

 

Digital & Creative Impact

 

The excitement extended far beyond the venues. Digitally:

 

• 373 social media posts were published across all platforms (not including stories).
• One Facebook reel surpassed 50,000 views.
• Basketball content generated more than 1,000,000 total views.
• The creative team captured over 30,000 photos during the six-day stretch.

• 36 unique stories were posted to GoUTRGV.com.

• All eight games were broadcast on ESPN+ and Southland International.

 

"We've had crossover weeks like this before, but this being intentionally branded #RallyTheValley Week made this special," senior associate athletic director for communications & championships Jonah Goldberg said. "I'm so proud of our team. Eight games in six days is a lot, and that doesn't even includes the road golf, tennis, and track & field events that we were also covering. There are so many small details people don't see. Watching our staff execute on a big stage and seeing how everyone worked together was incredibly rewarding. Then to see the fans show up the way they did, I truly feel like we rallied the Valley."

 

With basketball in the heart of conference play and baseball launching its season in record-breaking fashion, #RallyTheValley Week established a new annual spring tradition.

 

From tipoff to the final out, the Valley showed up, showed out, and rallied together.

 

To join the action with tickets and full promotional details, visit GoUTRGV.com.

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